barrier to success? Elizabeth Leighton, Associate Cambium Advocacy - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Local Authorities – supportive partner or barrier to success?

Elizabeth Leighton, Associate Cambium Advocacy

Why work with local authorities?

• “if the local authority doesn’t want it to happen, it won’t

happen”

• “the most successful projects have good relationships with

their local authorities”

• Framework for Community Action on Climate Change –

“open or block the way” But….

• Redtape, bureaucracy, interminably long timescales
• They don’t understand community groups
• They’re overworked
• Budget cutbacks make things worse

They need you

• Budget cuts – opportunity?
• Have to look outwards – how deliver services and outcomes?
• Focus on the local economy – tangible examples

Cosy Kirkcaldy – Service Level Agreement

Survey Results

Excellent 8% Good 53% Satisfactory 14% Poor 25%

Local Authority Relationship

Sustaining Dunbar

Benefits: Single Outcome Agreement, pilot 20 mph zone, photovoltaic promotion, referrals, joint conferences

• Use all your contacts - inform them, involve them
• Be inclusive – credible community engagement
• Get involved at a strategic level
• Build in capacity for local authority engagement
• Adapt to change and look for new opportunities

Greener Kirkcaldy

Benefits: growing spaces, diggers, joint hot spot insulation campaign, referrals

• Work with Energy Saving Scotland Advice Centre
• Establish relationships with the people who can help you do

your job – fuel poverty, allotments

• Find out how you can help each other
• Build in flexibility to pick up new opportunities
• It takes time!

Love Milton

Benefits: Planning, land-hold agreement, funding, employment placements

• Make your case in terms the local authority understands
• Work with all local elected officials and use them to get to

heads of department

• Show you are a partner, not competitor
• It takes lots of time and energy

What’s your experience?

• Small groups – purpose share experience and advice for other

groups

• Volunteer to scribe, time-keep

1) Introduce self, share one good and one difficult example of working with your local authority 15 mins (1-2 mins each) 2) Share your top tips and then as group – pick 3 to share with whole group (can be for groups and government) 15 mins

• Sharing with full group – 10 mins (2 mins each)

Top Tips from workshop

• Find a council officer who ‘gets’ your project – he or she will

support you and can help navigate through the bureaucracy

• It takes time – build in capacity to engage from the start
• Be patient and don’t get frustrated when one door closes –

you will find another one that opens

• Do the legwork - get to know your local authority and how it

works

• Study the Single Outcome Agreement and find out where your
• bjectives match
• Be the solution – approach the local authority with a way to

solve a problem, not demanding help.

• Network with other community groups in your area – what

can you learn from them?

• Work with all elected members and beware party politics

Suggestions for SCCAN

• Facilitate an “introduction service” for community groups

within a local authority area

• Pull together the community group activity in one local

authority area (or on a theme over a larger area) to illustrate the scale and significance of impact

• Work with local authorities to initiate new groups where

needed (especially in disadvantaged areas)

• Discuss with the Sustainable Scotland Network how its

members can help community groups

Thank You

Any further questions or contributions to the research? Contact: Elizabeth Leighton Independent consultant Associate, Cambium Advocacy Elizabeth@leightonconsulting.co.uk Mobile: 07792647005